Agricultural and Forestal Districts (AFDs)

Hundreds of landowners throughout the County have made the commitment to keep their land in farming or forestry by joining the Ag & Forestal District (AFD) program. In this program, a landowner commits to keeping their land in agricultural or forestry production for ten years. They forego the option to subdivide and develop the tracts during this period. In exchange, those areas are protected as “right to farm” regions, with protection against government interference in their farming and forestry operations.

Most years, several AFDs are up renewal of their 10 year terms. During the renewal period, landowners with parcels currently enrolled in a district can renew, add to, or remove their parcels without special consideration. This is also an excellent opportunity for landowners to enroll their land in a district for the first time.

The State Code provides details about the program, for more information see: http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title15.2/chapter43/